New England Revolution Matchday Preview: FC Chili Edition
The Revs travel to Ohio this week to face off against a strong Eastern Conference squad
While Jake Catanese recovers from Connecticut once again dominating women’s basketball, Cameron Benefit stepped up to the plate to preview the match against FC Cincy in a guest post. Make sure to check out his Substack!
It is match day for the New England Revolution. The Revs will take the pitch in Southwestern Ohio to face off against FC Cincinnati on Saturday evening.
The Revolution are looking to keep a good run of form up after a 2-1 win at home against the New York Red Bulls. Cincinnati is also coming off of a 2-1 win, albeit away from home against Nashville SC.
Though Cincy are not meeting expectations with the team that they have, it still has a great roster that includes star midfielder Evander. He leads the team in goals with four, along with being rated top of the roster with an overall match rating of 7.82 (FotMob)
This match should be a solid one as the Revs could be on the precipice of building some momentum early on in the season. Cincinnati is also an amazing environment to play in, with all the games played between these two clubs being fantastic.
Let's preview this one.
All Time Record Between Clubs
The Revs have won six games against Cincinnati, most recently beating them 2-1 away from home last season with a brace from former Revs striker Giacomo Vrioni. Cincinnati has won two games against New England, beating them in the first meeting with the clubs 2-0 at Gillette Stadium in 2019. The teams have drawn 3 times in their club's histories.
The Revs split the season series with FCC last season, losing the first matchup 2-1 at home, then beating Cincinnati 2-1 away from home later in the season.
Players to Watch
New England
Carles Gil is coming off of a true MVP performance, scoring a brace last weekend at home vs NYRB, with one of those goals being a stunning free kick that sailed into the top corner of the net. If he can find a way to produce against a strong but possibly weaker Cincinnati defense due to possible injuries, it could heavily benefit this Revs roster and weaken the Cincy defense.
Peyton Miller made his season debut last week with the Revolution. It may not have been the best performance, but we know what Miller can produce from the wingback position with his driving runs and passes into that final third for the Revs attack. If he can produce that this weekend against Cincinnati, he will truly cause a problem in this match.
FC Cincinnati
Evander was one of the biggest offseason moves in the MLS with him departing Portland for Cincinnati, and it is safe to say that move paid off for this FCC team. With four goals and an assist for Cincinnati this season, he is a problem for all MLS defenses, especially a possibly weakened one for New England with star CB Brayan Ceballos possibly being injured and not playing this weekend.
Kevin Denkey won the match for Cincinnati last weekend with a game-winning PK. Though he only played 45 minutes, he still made an impact with three shots and seven touches in the opponent’s box. A fully recovered Denkey is going to be a problem this weekend for New England.
Keys to the game for New England
The key to this game for New England is to make sure that they keep registering shots on net. Last weekend the Revs had 13 shots, a great number for this offense. If they can register a similar tally against a very strong Cincinnati defense, it will really help the Revs in this matchup.
Another key to the game for the Revs is to watch out for the through balls that Cincinnati plays. Evander loves to keep the ball for a while before finding a pass through the opposition defense and into the final third to create chances for Cincinnati. If the Revs can stop that or at least slow it down, it will be help them get points on the road.
Injury Report
New England Revolution
Leo Campana - Hamstring (Out)
Tomas Chancalay - Knee (Out)
Andrew Farrell - Leg (Out)
Wyatt Omsberg - Hamstring (Out)
Brayan Ceballos - Leg (Questionable)
Malcolm Fry - Leg (Questionable)
FC Cincinnati
Teenage Hadebe - Leg (Out)
Obinna Nwobodo - Leg (Out)
Evander – Knee (Questionable)
Yuya Kubo - Leg (Questionable)
Matt Miazga – Knee (Questionable)
Miles Robinson – Leg (Questionable)
This matchup should truly be amazing as all games at TQL are thrillers. If this Revs team can maintain momentum after their first win of the season, they may be coming home with the 3 points this weekend.
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